Avoiding the dreaded path
by SporkMilitia
Summary: Cancelled. Open for "adoption".
1. The dreaded path is up ahead

Hello! This is my very AU story of Danny Phantom, starting from where TUE let off! It has elements from stories like 'DP: Paint it Black' by Futuramakid and 'Obsession' by Celestial Fey. It also has my elements and original story continuation starting from 'Frightmare before Christmas'.

It has DannyXSam, a Vlad looking for forgiveness and a five-year-old Danielle. Any other pairings are not a chance right now… still need any logical or possible reason for an existence of them… still looking for an excuse though, but don't hold your breath.

Sorry for those expecting chapter 8, I don't know what to write, it happens that I have these... let's call them 'tics'. These 'tics' happen to me, whenever I think of something like, for instance, a family moment, an embarrasing moment, or something that makes people either laugh of cringe, these 'tics' force me to stop viewing and in extreme cases, forces me out of the computer because the thought is just so... that I have to walk it off... I'm trying to do it, I really am, but I'm losing inspiration... still... I want to do it. I'll see what I can do.

Possible disappearance of episodes: This is important, I need a really good plot for 'Masters of All Time' and if I don't come up with anything good, then I won't make it, it will the lack the embarrasment of Danny's and Jazz's parents since... well... if you read the summary you know. If I manage to do a believable plot then not only does 'MoAT' stays, but so many other episode arcs I'll write. However some will not be featured, such as 'Livin' Large' and 'Kindred Spirits' though I have a half thought of the latter if I do make 'MoAT', also I have a half-thought for 'Girl's Night Out' that might work and the rest of the episodes from 'TFBC' as well, you'll have to wait though.

Thanks to Jaded Jimmie for beta-ing this chapter and story! And for everyone as doing as much as reviewing!

_**Disclaimer: Butch Hartman is a brilliant man who created Danny Phantom, and he owns you too!**_

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The path divides

From the destroyed rubble of an old building in Amity Park, a black-gloved hand rose. Danny raised his head despite his exhaustion and saw how the hand returned to the rubble before a figure pulled himself out of the rubble. The figure was Danny's evil alternate future.

Evil Danny spoke "Well, that's it, isn't it?" Danny replied "Time's up!" before he grabbed a Fenton Thermos from his belt and pressed the button on it, making the thermos fire a blue light that engulfed the evil ghost and promptly sucked him in.

As the evil Danny tried to freed himself but failed and was sucked in he said "Too weak to escape, and you're too late to save them. RAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" and Danny placed the lid on top of it.

Then Danny remembered something important, turned around and said out loud "Oh no."

The boiler of the Nasty Sauce was glowing red, its heat-meter broke, after passing the red mark, its surface started to crack and from the cracks came hot steam, and the people tied to it by ghostly bonds, Jack, Maddie, Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Lancer couldn't help but stare at each other.

Danny broke into a sprint, attempting to get to them before the explosion happened. While running he tried to summon his ghost powers and the white ring formed, but as soon as it appeared it faded away. Danny said "I can't go ghost!".

Danny kept running, avoiding the rubble, and despite his tiredness, he kept running, pushing his legs to the maximum and with whatever strength he had left, he managed to get to the people tied to the boiler and grabbed the hands of the two people closest to him: Sam and Tucker.

Danny grabbed the hands of his friends and made himself and them intangible with his remaining ghost powers, he was about to make the rest of the people intangible but the boiler exploded in a massive fireball of highly combustible condiments.

For a second Danny wished that time would stop, so that the people in the explosion wouldn't die, to Clockwork to do something, anything, turn back the clock even if it meant fighting his evil self again, but no such luck was given to him… well… not exactly.

Time stopped and the explosion was still as strong as ever, a massive fireball over the remains of the Nasty Burger, but it was still… not expanding or shrinking, just stuck. Danny, Sam and Tucker intangible in the middle of it, the rest of the people nowhere to be seen over the shine of the fireball.

A swirling blue portal opened and Clockwork came out of it in his child form. He observed the entire scene, deciding whether or not he should help, but decided against his first decision. He made himself intangible and phased his hand through the fireball and grabbed one of the thermoses in Danny's belt. More specifically, the one that held Danny's evil future alter ego.

Clockwork said "I'm afraid this time I can't help you Danny, somewhere in another time, in another universe I helped you, I gave you a second chance… but sometimes a second chance it's just too much… now… all you have is your friends, and you're going to need them more than ever Danny. But don't worry… despite everything, I see a bright future ahead of you. I know." and he stored the thermos in his cloak and pressed the button on his stopwatch staff as he said "Time in!" and time restarted once again as he disappeared from view.

The world started to move again. The fireball expanded and it disappeared. After it died down Danny left go of his friends and turned himself tangible and visible, not that he had a choice since now his ghosts powers were too low to hold on those powers. As he looked around he saw that only Sam and Tucker made it, his parents, Jazz and Mr. Lancer were nowhere to be seen.

Danny said hopelessly "No… no no no no no no… NO! This can't be happening!" and he looked around, trying to find his family, his dad, his mom, his sister, even anything that could manage to survive the explosion. All Sam and Tucker could do was watch as Danny broke down slowly.

Danny managed to say "No! No! Oh… Dad… Mom… Jazz… I…" before he broke down completely and started to cry and sob at the death of his family. Sam came to him, kneeled in from of him and held him as he cried. All Danny could do was to hold Sam, hug her and bury his face in her shoulder. Tucker tried to look in the rubble for anything, and he looked he saw that in a pile of scrap metal was what appeared to be a body.

Tucker said "Hey! I found something!" and it caught Danny's and Sam's attention, they got on their feet and went to what Tucker was pointing wide-eyed. Sam and Danny's eyed bulged, not believing what their eyes saw. There, surrounded what appeared to be burnt metal, was Jazz, she was badly damaged, her hair somewhat burnt, but she was there, living, breathing… she survived.

Soon an ambulance, two police cars and a fire truck came, one of the officers and a firefighter came to them and once they saw what they were staring they called a paramedic to them.

The officer asked "Is she your friend?" and the three teenagers could only nod. The officer spoke again "I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to leave the scene, this place is dangerous. They say Danny Phantom was here." not knowingly bringing sadness to Danny again.

But Danny couldn't say anything because the adrenaline in his body died down, leaving him very tired, and making him pass out. As darkness overtook Danny all he could manage to make was the screams of his worried friends calling him by his name.

**A couple of hours later. North Mercy Hospital.**

In a hospital room were two beds, one of them had Danny Fenton, covered in a few bandages to cover some of his wounds that he received from his battle with his evil future self, and on the other bed was Jazz Fenton, now out of the Fenton Peeler suit that withstood most of the damage of the explosion, leaving her with some less-than-serious burns and some wounds that left her with her hands bandaged up up to her shoulders, and her feet up to her mid-thighs covered with many bandages, her face was slightly burn and so was her hair.

The doctors had to cut it and now it was shoulder's length, though with the same style.

Both of them had hospital patient robes on, and next to them were two figures in two seats. These were Sam and Tucker. Sam was sitting to the left of Danny's bed, which was at the right wall of the room while Tucker, who wasn't scared of the hospital due to the seriousness of the whole situation, was seated on the right of Jazz's bed that was in the left wall of the room.

After the ambulance took Danny and Jazz it was confirmed that Jack, Maddie, and Lancer didn't made it, in fact, their bodies were evaporated and even their bones were burnt into ashes. A sad ending indeed for the three adults. In memory of them statues would be build, with the inscriptions 'Gone but not forgotten', with the exception of Mr. Lancer which will only say 'Gone', but Sam and Tucker, and of course Danny and Jazz, would never forget him, and especially Jack and Maddie Fenton.

Soon Danny started to fidget and he slowly dared to open his eyes, hoping that everything was a dream. But as he saw the white light of the hospital, himself in a hospital robe, and his hands featuring some bandages, he knew it happened. The explosion occurred and only he, Sam, and Tucker survived, then he remembered, before he passed out he saw Jazz.

As he looked to his right he saw Sam, staring at him with concern on her violet eyes, a little further he saw Tucker, who twisted himself so he could see Danny, and next to Tucker was Jazz.

Danny rose from his bed spoke "Jazz…" though it came hoarsely as he was still tired and weak. He lay back down as Sam placed a hand on his chest and effortlessly pushed him to the bed. Sam said "Don't try Danny, you're still weak, and your wounds haven't healed yet. Jazz is ok, the doctors said that she was seriously injured and that she would need time to recover and wake up, but she's stable. She's still alive."

Danny smiled slightly before he became sad again; he remembers that now his parents and Mr. Lancer are dead, by his fault no less. Sam detected this and said "Hey, is going to be ok. Maybe your parents didn't make it, but… actually… I don't know what to say now…". Danny knew that Sam tried to comfort him and he gave her a sad smile, in appreciation for how she was still willing to stay by his side despite everything, even this relative closeness to death didn't pushed her away.

But Danny's mind was still plagued with guilt, thinking of what the last thoughts of his parents, and Mr. Lancer, were. Being murdered by your evil future son, evil future student in Lancer's case must be one heck of a shocking thought as your time runs out.

Danny wasn't even sure if he could get over the death of his parents, but now he had his friends and his sister to hang on, preventing him from going to the darkness of his mind, and perhaps, making him avoid the path he must not walk through.

Now Danny just relaxed and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**The same time. Wisconsin, Vlad's Mansion.**

Vlad was currently in his living room, seated in a sofa, holding a cell phone to his ear, listening to what the person was telling to him through the other end of the telephone.

"So… Jack left me the custody of Daniel and Jasmine?" asked Vlad. In the other end, Mr. Johnson, the Fentons lawyer, was telling Vlad that in the will of Jack and Madeline Fenton was the clause in which Vlad Masters, as Danny's and Jazz's godfather, was given custody of Daniel and Jasmine Fenton, and had the responsibility of taking care of him, unless both, Vlad, and Danny and Jazz, were against it.

Mr. Johnson said "Yes, and I'm sure you heard the news that they are currently hospitalized. So, until both of them are fully recovered you can pick them up." and Vlad replied "Sure, I'll also call them and ask them about it."

Mr. Johnson said "Alright then, right now I'm going to see them, apparently Daniel Fenton woke up, and I'll tell them of their parents' will… perhaps they won't like the reminder of their parents' death, but it is imperative of them to follow the last will of their parents."

Vlad replied "Of course, tell Daniel and Jasmine I said hi. I have some… business to take care of before I call them. Have a good day, sir."

Mr. Johnson returned the goodbye and hung up. Vlad closed his cell phone and he was about to step outside his house and ask the limo driver to take him to his property near the Wyoming-Colorado border.

But before he left, he went to his room and grabbed the picture of him, Jack and Maddie that was in his night table, which was laid facing down the table. It still had Jack's face ripped off. So he opened the night table and took the missing piece of the picture. He decided to simply phase the face into the glass of the framed picture and into its place. The picture now looked perfect, like if it wasn't ripped out at all.

Vlad slightly smiled and left the picture in its place, now steadying it like it was supposed to be. He then left the room.

**One hour later, Vlad's estate near the Wyoming-Colorado border. **_(A/N: If I'm wrong with the time of the trip just roll with it, please.)_

Ever since Vlad heard of the explosion that took the lives of his friends Jack and Maddie Fenton, he felt… to the lack of better word, guilty.

Twenty years of planning, twenty years of preparations, twenty years of a grudge, and twenty years of effort now wasted. Not completely wasted, since he still had his money and properties, but it was all so he could have Maddie for himself, get Jack out of the picture, like the one he ripped out, and since recently, have Danny as his son.

He had thoughts of killing Jack himself, but he never thought he would actually do it. Kill a man, let alone the man who was always with him, even after the accident that gave Vlad his power he was always there, a loyal follower, and a loyal voter if Vlad ever ran for something. But now… he was dead, and so was Maddie, the woman who was also a friend for him even if he wanted more.

With their deaths he made a silent vow, he would never use his powers again, not he needed to make a vow. Like any other full ghost, Vlad had an obsession. Initially believing it was Maddie, he realized now it was his hunger for greatness, for power, for more. Always more. And now with the tragic accident his hunger for more died, and now he could barely even tap into his powers. He had a life to go on; he's in his early forties and had a life ahead of him.

But now… it was over. And he lost; he had no reason to continue fighting or even trying anymore. Maybe Danny still had something to fight for. Vlad hadn't heard of Danny having a solid obsession… yet. And Danny was still a hero, even if Amity Park thought otherwise. But since Danny had a life ahead of him and he didn't want to intervene, that was the very reason he was here in this very property: to give up and erase all of his plans since he had no reason to continue them.

Right now, Vlad was currently going down the lab where his cloning project was going on. He saw as in the different chambers many of his failed clones were awaiting for his decision to free them. However he gave them what he thought was more merciful and pressed a button in each chamber to abort the accelerated growth of the clones of Danny Phantom, and life support, leaving them to eventually die slowly and painlessly.

One by one he pressed the buttons, over two dozen chambers that contained the clones he made trying to come up with his perfect half-ghost son immediately shut down. As he was about to press the last one he noticed that inside of it, was in fact a clone that appeared to be stable and didn't look like a failure like the other clones. But the most outstanding feature of the clone was that the hair was longer than Danny's, in fact, the clone looked like a girl.

Vlad said "Mad- err… computer, what is the status about this clone?" and the hologram of the deceased Maddie Fenton appeared and said "Stability 95%, sweetie. Anomaly: Y chromosome missing in DNA recombination. Result: Female clone, dear one. Ectoplasmic readings: Stable so far. Instability expected with overextended use of ectoplasmic powers. Structural density: 100% so far."

And Vlad flinched at the compliments he got from the hologram and made a mental note to delete it, along with the Jack program. Looking at the holograms of his dead friends, who he had mistreated, were a pain to his already stroked heart.

From what the hologram told his is that the clone was indeed a girl, and was stable and had the appearance of the regular 5-year old girl, amazingly not looking horrid like the other clones.

Vlad still had the thought of aborting the growth and letting her die in peace, but his body didn't respond and instead pressed another button, which emptied the green substance the girl was floating in and made the chamber open, smoke poured out of It, and as the upper part stopped moving, the chamber revealed the girl in it.

She was wearing the same ghost form clothes she would be wearing when she would be 12 but it didn't show her midriff. Her white hair was short and it barely grazed her shoulders, and her front bangs were in the same style as Danny's.

She was very short, like any young child, at least 3 feet and she was lying down in the bottom of the chamber. Suddenly there was a flash, and in its place was a black haired girl, and she slowly opened her blue eyes.

She slowly got up until she was on her feet, trying to balance herself over them and Vlad kneeled down in front of her and caught her before she fell on her face.

Dani looked up into the eyes of Vlad and asked "Are you my daddy?" Vlad immediately felt a pang of guilt in his heart, though he didn't show it. He was nothing to her, only her maker, just to fulfill his selfish desire of a half-ghost son.

Vlad spoke "No. I'm actually your godfather… your father is…" and trailed off before answering, he was considering telling her that his real father, Jack Fenton, was dead, and so was her mother, Maddie Fenton. So when Vlad spoke again he said "Your father is actually in Amity Park, my dear. I will take you to him, if you want, Danielle."

Dani cocked her head to the sound of what she thought was her name. She asked "Danielle? Is that my name?" and Vlad answered "Yes. Your full name is Danielle Fenton." and she absorbed this information.

Vlad got up, carrying her in his arms and as he walked out Dani asked "And my father? Who is he?" and Vlad only slightly smiled and replied "He's Danny. Danny Fenton. A remarkable young man if I say so myself."

As Vlad walked out he made a mental note that he would have to find a way to stabilize Dani's DNA. She didn't exactly need to be stabilized, but if she ever used her powers her DNA could destabilize, and the only way she could help Danielle is if Danny agrees to give him a sample of mid-morph DNA. Though he would expect a witty comeback from Danny, being called a fruit loop for asking his DNA and for making Danielle in the first place.

True, Vlad didn't expect forgiveness from Danny, but he was willing to do anything for forgiveness. He hoped that Danny would at least trust him. As the girl started to doze off on his shoulder he decided that if Danny didn't offered him a sample of mid-morph DNA then he would find any way to stabilize Danielle.

**The same time. Amity Park, North mercy Hospital.**

A middle-aged man entered the room where Danny and Jazz were currently recovering from their wounds. Sam and Tucker turned to him.

The middle-aged man had grey hair, was slightly bald and was wearing a black suit and had a black briefcase on his right arm. The man was known as Frederick Johnson, the lawyer of the Fentons.

Mr. Johnson said "Oh. I'm in the right room." as Sam and Tucker only stared at him.

Sam eventually asked "Who are you?" and Mr. Johnson replied "I'm the lawyer of the deceased Jack and Madeline Fenton. I have the will they left in case of both of them died, which was unfortunately the current situation. Is there any chance either Daniel of Jasmine will wake up?".

Tucker answered "The doctors said that Jazz might wake up in a few days. Danny just woke up an hour ago before he fell asleep and we don't know when he might get up."

As if on cue Danny started to move and he opened his eyes. He glanced around the room until his eyes fell on the middle-aged man. Danny asked "Who are you?" and the man said "My condolences, Daniel. I'm your parents' lawyer, and I bring the will they left." and Danny felt somewhat sad, his parents' death was still a raw wound and it would take a lot of time to close but he tried to swallow the sadness and said "Oh. Well… what does the will say?"

Mr. Johnson sat on a chair near the door and placed his briefcase on his lap and opened it and also placed his glasses before his eyes, as he took out the will he said "Well… in your parents' will it says that your parents left you and Jasmine their house, their contents and everything, even what is in their lab in the basement, it also says about their bank accounts which should cover any debt of water, electricity and other necessities of yours for a while, and whatever amount is left in the bank accounts will be transferred to a new bank account.

Though all of this will be yours once Jazz becomes old enough by legal terms. In other words, until she's 18 years old. The contents in your rooms however belong respectively to both of you and you can take them to the place you're going to live in.

Your godfather, Vlad Masters, was left with the custody of both you and Jasmine, and unless both parts disagree with the clause you will have to be under his care, and -" and he was cut off by Danny saying "No! I will not go or listen to that fruit- old man!"

Mr. Johnson sighed "Very well, if Vlad follows your wishes he will leave you, but you and your sister will require a legal guardian if Vlad isn't yours, or you will have to follow the clause anyways."

Danny considered this; he didn't know who else to go with. There was his aunt, Alicia, but it wouldn't be a nice life to say the least. Sam eventually spoke up and said "He can live with me! I can convince my parents to live with us!"

Frederick, Danny, and Tucker stared at her and asked "You can?" and Mr. Johnson considered this "Very well… if your parents agree to be their legal guardians and Vlad renounces their custody, then it's all taken care of. But you will have to live with them and also, you, Jasmine, and Vlad will have to sign some papers at my office to clear everything up. And her parents will have to sign some papers as well, making them your legal guardians. Now that that's taken care of, your father left you one last item."

Frederick placed the will in his suitcase and put away his glasses as he grabbed a small black box that was buried inside the mess of papers inside the suitcase and closed it once he took out the box. He walked to Danny and gave him the box.

Mr. Johnson said "Your father left you this. Is his old class ring, he was going to give it to you since he believed that you could have a use for it. He even engraved something in it. Now, I must go, my most sincere apology, Danny. Something like this shouldn't have happened to your parents. They were good people. Oh, and before I go, here, this is my address. Vlad sends his greetings." He gave Danny his business card and he left the room.

Danny glanced at the box in his hand. He opened in and indeed, there was a ring. A gold band with a blue rock on it. As he took it out, and saw the inside of it he noticed that it said 'Wes'.

Danny spoke "Huh… it says… 'Wes'… weird… Oh well… my dad left it believing I might have a use for it one day, so I'll keep this around." He placed the ring inside the box and gave it to Sam. He said "Can you keep this for me? Oh and, thanks for saving me from going to Vlad's."

Sam replied "Sure, and your welcome." and Tucker said "Are you sure you can get your parents to be Danny's and Jazz's legal guardians, Sam?" and Sam thought if for a second. She answered "Well… it might take a few dresses and some… bright make up… but it will be worth it." While cringing a little to the thought of using a pink dress and pink make up, but to let Danny stay in Amity Park, and more importantly, away from becoming evil she would do it.

Danny said "Thanks Sam. You're a really good friend to do that for me." And Sam replied, while slightly blushing "Oh it's nothing. That's what friends are for." barely whispering the last part. Usually Tucker would crack about them being lovebirds, but the somber mood of the death they experienced, and witnessed, hours earlier returned and everyone was alone with their thoughts.

Danny decided to lie down again and try to sleep, having nothing else to do. Sam continued to stare at Danny, seeing him calmed down was far better than what she saw when he broke down. And Tucker continued to look at Jazz.

The three of them thought that things would get complicated from now, and they were right, but what was keeping them going was the thought that after everything, no matter what, life would be good, and with time everything would get better.

End of chapter 1.

I actually made it? Wow… now… it will take a while before chapter 2. So… yeah…

Any questions, you can ask me with a review of PM. Also any suggestion is welcome. You can be criticizing, I can take it. No need to be gentle, but don't be an ass and flame me either, I only accept true criticizing, if you say 'It sucks' say why. And I don't allow anonymous reviews… I hate posers who use the pennames of authors to stir up trouble in the fandom.

One explanation, and perhaps the only one I thought for this one: The ring… in the episode 'Flirting with Disaster' Jack showed him the ring, in the right side. In my story Danny just grabbed it and being the clueless teen he is he had it upside down, so… yeah… as for the awkward father-son talk… I'll think of something, and no, there won't be any parents' ghost… I have something in mind that just seems likely, if you know what I mean.

Also, Dani is short, very short, and probably barely tall to reach Danny's waist or something. I think. Oh well.

Thanks for reading. And reviewing for those who want to.


	2. Life goes on

Second!

New chapter! The plot thickens… does it? Who knows… the plot is pretty much the same.

Also timeline, since it is after TUE there's the Christmas chapter…. Well, there's still a long of time before that, so... yeah… well… don't blame me! There's still plenty of stuff to go through the story! If you read the last chapter you would know! Also, the holiday seasons are about… what… uh… one month away? I mean, it wasn't exactly snowing during TUE, so it requires at least 1 month before the full force of winter… yeah…

Message: To those awaiting the new chapter of 'New Family Member'... it's on hiatus... sorry, I have no inspiration and university studies are sucking my dry on energy and time, I'm posting this because is what I wrote in roughly 4 hours along with the first and third chapter of this story (oh yes, chapter 3 is finished but won't be posted until next week, now I only update weekly, I'll see if I can post for both stories next week).

So... read... I hope this can be angsty enough... since it's a kids show, the angst was... well... low... so I hope I can get enough grief thrown in there... I have noticed that the Danny in TUE (the one that became evil), looked broken, but mostly sad and broody... yet broken by guilt... anyways... I hope he's sad enough, the levels of grief and angst are slightly lower since he managed to save his friends and Jazz survived (butterfly effect rocks!) so... but I hope I don't screw it... chapter 3 Danny recovers slightly, chapter 4 maybe breaks down again... I have thoughts of making him cry and suffer (Schadenfreude much? Actually, yes! Hell yes!)

Thanks: See last chapter.

Warnings: See last chapter.

_**Disclaimer: See last chapter.**_

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Life goes on

The next day Danny woke up, leaving the nightmares, those of how he failed to save his family and friends and eventually became evil that plagued his mind. As he glanced around he saw that Sam and Tucker were gone, and as he looked around he found a clock over Jazz's bed which read 7 AM. No wonder why they left. Yesterday was already late when he slept again and perhaps when visiting hours were over they had to leave.

As he thought it over now it was his chance to prevent his future from turning into hell. Sure, his parents were dead and he will miss them, but now he saved Sam and Tucker. And Jazz managed to survive, remembering that he had to talk eventually to the latter about his secret, but as he glanced back at Jazz, who was still unconscious, and her burns looking the same, he would have to wait until she wakes up and recovers completely, or as much as her wounds can recover.

Now it started, a long race of ten years of preventing his guilt and anger from eating away his brain and sanity, from preventing himself from going to Vlad and asking him to rip out his emotions, eventually triggering a chain effect, triggering the start of ten years of havoc and destruction.

Had Danny failed to save them all he would be tempted to go get his humanity ripped out, but now, he had his friends and sister, and perhaps his future wouldn't be bad, maybe there was still something left for him, he still had a life ahead of him, and with his friends and sister helping him along the way they would make sure his future is a happy and bright place.

Despite himself, Danny smiled a little at the last thought.

But Danny's mind was still like a battlefield, a mental one for that matter. His guilt versus his will to move on, and right now, his guilt was winning. Getting over his parents' death will be the greatest milestone he would ever achieve… IF he does move on.

Danny's mind, like in his dreams, was starting to plague with the thoughts of his parents' looks when they died, he was starting to doubt they might have even forgiven him for their death. True, all parents can't hate their children, and this was no exception with Danny's parents, but when their children is both what they hate, a ghost, and they cause of their death, even if it was involuntarily…

Danny sighed, his guilt was already starting to chew away his mind, he was silently hoping that someone would be there to talk to him, to help him; he was even starting to wish that Jazz was awake. Maybe it was selfish, especially considering that Jazz would most likely share his grief at the loss of their parents' but at least he would have someone with him. And he needed someone, or else the voice in his head that greatly resembled his evil future's voice would likely win the battle and Clockwork-knows that would happen.

He started to think about Sam. He was briefly wondering how was she. And if she already talked to her parents.

While he was thinking about his life and the 'now what' situation he was in, he failed to notice that his older sister's left hand was starting to twitch, and her fingers were curling.

**The same time. Manson Household.**

Jeremy and Pamela Manson were staring at their daughter, shock in their faces with the proof being their bulged eyes and gaping mouths, their forks, holding some scrambled eggs from their plates were half-way up to their mouths, slowly slipping from their hands. What Sam Manson asked them was the last question they ever expected to hear from her.

Ida Manson on the other hand, was half-expecting it. She knew of her granddaughter's crush with the Fenton boy and she knew that Sam would want to help him in this time, since the vulnerable boy will need the help from his friends. So she had a small thought that perhaps Sam would ask for Danny and Jazz to live with them, since leaving at their parents' house would only add salt to their wounds.

The forks fell from their hands and the clank they made when they collided with their plates brought Jeremy and Pamela back from their shocked state to the living, so to speak.

Pam spoke first "But Samantha, we were having such a great breakfast! Why did you ruined it with the mention of _him_, let alone ask us to let him live here."

Sam replied "Because Danny needs my help. He's not in the right state of mind, trust me. If he goes with Vlad, then well… I don't want to think of what could take place there." and finished there, not daring to think of what Vlad might do to Danny, now that Danny's mind was vulnerable to the slightest mention or memory of his parents.

Ida spoke "I say we let him live here. He can't live in his parents' house. And living with Vlad, the Fentons' best family friend might bring him pain. He can live here, bubeleh." And placed a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder-

Jeremy said "Hang on! We haven't made a decision yet! Besides, wasn't it his fault you were there? So dangerously close to the place of the explosion?"

Sam answered "It wasn't his fault entirely! He didn't know the Nasty Sauce container would explode!"

Pam said "It doesn't matter if it wasn't his fault or not. The fact that you were so close of dying from the explosion because of being his friend is real. He's a danger to you and us! His parents were ghost hunters and they were magnets for ghosts. How do we don't know the son of ghost hunters won't attract ghosts to our house by simply living here?"

Sam replied "That's not important. You're just trying to come up with excuses so that he won't live here! He's my friend and he needs my help! And that's final!"

Jeremy and Pam rose from their seats, fuming, and said "SAMANTHA, YOU WILL NOT-"

Ida interrupted "ENOUGH! Danny and Jazz can live here! If you want you can make Danny and Jazz stay in the same room, or make James keep an eye on him at all times! The boy needs help. And to be honest, you never gave him a chance just because you judged him by being the son of ghost hunters and being from the middle class. I met him and I like him, and if he's friends with Sam then he mustn't be bad."

Jeremy and Pamela stared at each other after Ida's comment. They knew she was right. But they weren't going to show her, let alone go down without bringing someone with them.

Jeremy and Pam said "Fine." as they sat back. Pam said "But Samantha, you will have to wear a dress occasionally while they stay in the house. I'll tell you later when you finished paying the debt."

Sam replied "Deal. But I'm still wearing a black dress for the funeral."

Pam said "Deal."

And they continued eating their breakfast.

**Thirty minutes later. Entrance of North Mercy Hospital.**

Tucker was just entering the hospital, this time his fear of doctors and especially needles was returning now that the sense of danger and emergency disappeared and now he was aware of the place he was just entering. Tucker felt that this was almost as bad as walking through a pit of snakes.

But the dark skinned boy didn't falter, and with a strong face he marched down the hallway, remembering where his friends, the Fenton kids, were being attended in the hospital.

He opened the door and saw Danny was awake. Said boy glanced back at Tucker and he smiled.

Tucker said "Hey." Danny replied back "Hey… how you've been?"

Tucker said "Shouldn't I be the one asking you? Then again… it's pretty obvious." And Danny's smile faltered and he sighed.

Danny said "I don't know… in one hand I should be glad I managed to save you, and be happy that Jazz survived… but on the other hand… I could have saved my parents… I don't know why I got to you, I just thought because you were the closest ones… but…"

Tucker said "Is ok dude. You feel guilty… is ok, it's natural to feel-"

Danny interrupted "I don't feel guilty! I AM guilty! In a sick twisted way it is MY fault they are dead."

Tucker said "It wasn't your fault! Sure, it was maybe a possible future of you, but it wasn't technically you! That Danny, whoever it was wasn't you. You were- ARE a hero. That dude was evil. I don't know how he got evil, but it has to do with the explosion and our deaths which didn't happen, I'm sure of that."

Danny chuckled "Oh, you don't even know how right you are. That guy was evil, but the evil wasn't mine… I don't want to talk about this."

Tucker replied "Dude, talking helps. I can't believe I'm using one of Jazz's lines, but you should talk about things, don't keep them to yourself. How do you expect to let us help if you don't open yourself to us?"

Danny said "I really don't want to talk about this."

Tucker said "Fine. Keep it to yourself, but be sure of one thing. We won't forget this."

Danny replied "Oh, I was kind of hoping for that. And shouldn't you be in school or something?"

Tucker said "Well… with Lancer's death there's no school until after the funeral."

Danny sighed and sarcastically said "Oh great. I almost forgot about him… more salt to the wound. Never mind… let me guess, the mayor is going to issue a statue for my parents and Mr. Lancer near the previous Nasty Burger, which should be under reconstruction right now?"

Tucker's eyes bulged "How did you know about that?"

Danny replied "Well, when you're stuck with your future evil self who tells you briefly of the event that made your life fall apart before throwing you to the Ghost Zone all wrapped up for your future enemies who are more scorned with you than in the present, you get to see things. So, my parents' statue will have a plate that says 'Gone but not forgotten' and Lancer's will only say 'Gone'?"

Tucker was even more shocked with that "Dude, you're seriously creeping me out."

Danny said "Fine. I'll stop… besides, that's all I got. At least stuff I'm willing to reveal… other things are just… fit for both a 'Eww' and a 'Yikes'."

Tucker chuckled a bit.

Suddenly they heard a moan and their heads snapped to the direction it came. The bed that currently had Jasmine Fenton lying in it. Jazz's hand was starting to tighten into a fist and suddenly her eyes opened and she sat quickly before she grabbed her sides and stomach in pain.

Jazz quickly glanced around the room "Huh? What- Where… where am I?" and she saw Tucker and Danny.

Danny recovered first "Jazz! You're awake!" and he got off the bed, onto his feet and ran to Jazz and hugged her, though remembering to be gentle since she was probably still in pain.

Jazz replied "Of course I am! What… what happened Danny? Where are Mom and Dad? And where are we?"

Danny answered "The explosion in the Nasty Burger happened. We're in the hospital." evading the second question.

Jazz asked again "Danny… where's Mom and Dad?"

Danny's face fell, his smile gone, his head lowering, and Jazz gasped and her eyes started to tear. Jazz started to cry and her brother hugged her, trying to console her.

Jazz stuttered "Bu- but… I- I survived… why didn't they? Why! And why did I!"

Danny replied "Because you we're wearing the Fenton Peeler suit. That absorbed most of the explosion… you got burned but you survived."

Jazz tried to say something but instead a sob came out and she tightened her grip on her brother. She only said one thing coherently "No… I can't believe it…"

Danny's own eyes were starting to tear up to and he replied "I'm sorry…"

**8:00 AM. Entrance of North Mercy Hospital.**

Sam was currently walking down the hallway were Danny and Jazz were being treated. One she opened the door she saw Danny in his normal clothes sitting on Jazz's bed, Tucker sitting next to Jazz bed, Jazz currently awake and seated- wait, Jazz!

The doctor, whom Sam didn't notice until some of her shock wore off, spoke "And… you'll be staying her until tomorrow, so we can make sure your burn wounds are healing. You have been very lucky that the suit you were wearing took most of the damage, Ms. Fenton. I'll leave you alone now."

The doctor left the room, and it was until then they noticed Sam entered the room. She said "Hi. How are you, Jazz?"

Jazz sniffled a little and Sam noticed her eyes were red and she had tear tracks over her cheeks, and so was Danny. Jazz said "I'm fine…" trying to keep her voice from cracking and utterly failing.

Jazz said "I'll be fine… eventually. So… our parents left us their house and belongings. Did it say anything about Vlad?"

Danny said "Actually, it says that Vlad is our godfather and has custody over us, unless he renounces it. Now that I think of it, it will be difficult. Now that he has his chance for his half-ghost son, I doubt he'll leave us be."

Sam said "Well, you can still try, you can ask him to honor you this wish, let you stay here." Not noticing that Danny slightly flinched and tensed to the phrase 'honor you this wish'.

Danny replied "Yeah… I can still try. Well… did you talk to your parents yet?"

Sam answered "This morning. But you will have to share a room. And expect James the butler occasionally watching at you, and my parents' not-so-discreet glares."

Danny said "Anything to not go with Vlad is ok for me."

Tucker said "Speaking of Vlad, you think he'll come here or something?"

Danny said "Of course he will. He'll probably come to our parents' funeral. Or at least Mom's."

Tucker said "True. You think he'll try to take you there by force?"

Danny said "Doubtful. The future Vlad I met. Oh yes, he was still alive." The last part to the fact his friends and sister were surprised of Vlad's survival in the future.

Danny continued "Anyways, he told me that after the explosion I came to him. With no one else to go, except to him. Apparently he was the only person left in the world who could possibly understand my pain. I think it has to do with the part of my parents' death and the fact that both of us lost our friends to the explosion.

He said I wanted the pain to go away, so he… honored my wishes. He used the Ghost Gauntlets and he ripped the ghost out of me, then apparently my ghost half, filled with nothing but pain, grief and guilt ripped Vlad's ghost half. Right now I'm telling you the creation of my evil future self; I think you deserve to know. Well, my ghost half mixed with his, and apparently his evil side overwhelmed me, creating the evil me."

Danny glanced around the faces of the three other people in the room. There was shock, and he thought he saw some anger in their eyes. He spoke again "Vlad didn't want to tell me what happened to my human self, but whatever it is. It must've been awful."

Sam, Tucker and Jazz were shocked and a little scared at the last bit. Danny's head lowered so he stared at the floor.

Tucker said "How did you manage to return back in time? If that you who took the test wasn't really you then how did you get here before the explosion? We thought you took of your medallion."

Jazz said "Medallion?"

Danny answered "We wore some weird medallions that allowed us to stay in whatever time we wanted to. It apparently also allows one to travel in time considering how my evil self got here, and he made my medallion intangible and shoved it inside of me and I couldn't reach it. When I got to Vlad I asked him to remove it from me and he did. And you know the rest." Letting out the part how Vlad first tried to finish him until he managed to convince him he was still good and that he could change everything.

Everyone else only nodded.

Danny sighed and said "I'll be back soon."

Jazz asked "Where are you going?"

Danny answered "Clockwork. He started this mess, and he should better do something about it."

Jazz asked "Clockwork?"

Danny replied "He's a ghost that can control time and he sees everything in the timeline. I just hope he helps me." And he changed into Danny Phantom without his usual battle cry.

The rings seemed somewhat dull now. They seemed dimmer, almost absent of its blue shine, and they appeared to travel slower.

Danny turned invisible and intangible and flew out of the hospital and flew towards his former home.

In the room, Sam, Tucker and Jazz only stared at the wall that Danny phased off.

Tucker eventually spoke "So… since when you found out Danny's powers?"

A few minutes later. Ghost Zone, some strange location.

Danny flew quickly as the doors he passed seemed a blur and he skillfully avoided some floating rocks in his path. Eventually the rocks and floors were replaced by floating and moving cogs surrounding a giant clock tower.

Danny found Clockwork's lair and he only flew to its clock window, changed into a human and once inside he changed back into ghost form.

Danny yelled "Clockwork!" as he blasted a few cogs around, intending of getting Clockwork.

A mysterious and melodious voice spoke "Calm down child. It's never good to lose your nerves. It's always good to be patient, I know by experience." And the figure of a purple-dressed blue child ghost floated down until it hovered above the ground.

Clockwork, changing into a man, spoke again "What do you want, Danny?"

Danny replied angrily "You know what I want!"

Clockwork said "I know. You want to know if I will do any favor to you. You want to know if I'm willing to change time and save your parents. Correct?" and Danny only nodded.

Clockwork, changing into an old scrawny man, continued "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do, Danny."

Danny snapped "But you're the master of time! You can do anything!"

Clockwork replied "I can, and I did. As I said there's nothing more I can do."

Danny said "Huh?" and Clockwork only guided him to a time window. The swirling background inside the time window was replaced by the image of Danny Fenton walking inside his home, and the Danny of the vision suddenly entered the kitchen and hugged his parents. He said "I love you." And ran upstairs.

The Jack of the vision said "Hey, what was that about?"

The Maddie replied "I don't know. Do you think he got a bad score at the CAT?"

The image faded back into a swirling green background.

Danny's eyes were watering at the sight of his living parents. "Mom… Dad… wait? The CAT? What was that about?"

Clockwork, changing into a child again, replied "That was a timeline in another universe in which I indeed helped you. I turned back the clock, allowed you to do the right choice, eliminating the trigger that set off a chain of events that lead to the future you desperately avoid."

Danny said angrily "Then why I'm not him! Why my parents are still dead! Why am I still suffering of that event? Why do I still hear the voice of _him_ haunting me! Telling me to screw everything and destroy everything!"

Clockwork answered, his voice or patience never faltering "Because sometimes, Danny, a second chance is just asking too much. And in this universe I didn't chose to save you, only retrieve the piece of the timeline that was threatening it. There is always more than one choice, more than one answer to a question, and there's always a separate universe divided by the question, choice or destiny you choose.

Even if you make one choice, there's always another place in the multiverse you made another choice and this applies even to me. This universe exists, like all others. And my task is to look over all of them, even if the Observants only care for the prime timeline."

The image changed showing the Christmas of the Prime Timeline, in which it was Christmas after the incident that didn't happen. Danny was fuming over how his parents ruined once again Christmas for him as his parents were openly discussing Sana Claus' existence in the middle of the mall. The Danny said "If you need me I'll be getting rid of some frustration." And the image disappeared.

Danny said "You idiot! You should be glad you even still have your parents for that account. But of course he'll never know. Right Clockwork?"

Clockwork, changing into an old man again, replied "He won't, but he's still glad his parents are alive, like his friends and sister. Except that he isn't as grateful as you are for your friends and sister since I made sure the explosion never happened at all and he never suffered the loss you experienced at all."

Danny's emotion darkened. "Well, at least he won't suffer the way I am. I'm pretty sure he would even hate the fact his sister will keep psychoanalyzing him or something, even if she knows his secret. Isn't there anything you can do for me?"

Clockwork replied "I'm afraid I can't Danny. The Observants, the ones who ask me to do what they think is fit for the timeline; don't want me to interfere with alternative timelines that have nothing to do with the main timeline. I can't interfere with this timeline since it would make the existence of two equal timelines exist one over the other. Scrubbing against each other making both unstable.

Since you're fourteen I'll only tell you what you need to know: If I do help you and do what I did for the other Danny, then the two timelines would merge, eventually destroying both timelines since one of them won't just magically disappear but instead they would combine, make a double for everything, buildings, people, places, even planets, and the sudden change of amount of matter in the combined universe, as well as the matter existing over matter would make the universes implode, and the Observants would be mad."

Danny was shocked for the information he got and crestfallen as his plan for getting his parents alive failed.

He was going to leave the tower before Clockwork spoke again "If it is of any consolation Danny, you will eventually move on. It will be a hard road before you get there but you will, and your future in this timeline is bright, Danny. You will not turn evil as long as you don't give up. And with your friends to be there with you, you will never be alone in this. There will always be someone with you on the future ahead of you, to be there to share what's coming ahead with you." indirectly hinting that someone.

Danny looked back at him. "Thanks Clockwork." And he left the clock tower.

Clockwork changed back into a young man and he looked again into the time window. It showed a scene of Vlad, dressed in his usual suit and Danielle, this time dressed in a light blue dress, in a plane, heading to Amity Park, in fact, that very scene was just taking place.

Danielle was staring at the window, she eventually said "Wow…"

Vlad replied "Yes. Oh, be ready my dear, we'll land in Amity Park soon enough. One hour for the most."

Danny pouted "Aww…"

Vlad smiled; surprisingly it was a warm and sincere smile absent the usual malice in it, and he said "Don't you want to see your dad, my dear?"

Dani's face brightened and she replied "Yes!" and Vlad only laughed slightly.

As Clockwork watched the scene he said to himself "Oh, I forgot to tell him that there was one big surprise waiting for him. Oh well, it's always funny to see someone with a shocked face." And he snickered slightly.

* * *

End of chapter.

Wow… I think it's getting better. But that's up to you. I still think it sucks.

**Explanations**: I said something about a will last chapter and I thought 'Then how did Damon and Valerie Gray keep the house in the episode?' I don't know what to say, maybe Danny left it to them, or Axiom Labs bought it and Damon was allowed to stay there or something? I don't really know how to explain that. I even find it difficult to think how they got it in the first place on the original episode. Or even what could have happened to Danielle during TUE (something most people didn't think because she was a melting clone and said 'oh... she probably melted or something... who cares? She's a clone' and that greatly pisses me off, I like Danielle hence why i make 'New Family Member').

Also Danny only comforted Jazz before the doctor came, so the conversation of how Jazz found out Danny's powers didn't took place until that scene at 8 AM.

The scene of Vlad and Dani flying to Amity Park… I decided to place that forward, I guess Vlad wanted Danny to take care of Dani, I have an explanation for that too, but it's gonna be in the story! Also, if you wonder, I'll say they flew early or something or maybe overnight, or maybe they just started flying or something? Vlad can surely own a private plane right? I don't know, you try to make sense of it, usually the cartoon makes the watcher try to make sense of it when it leaves holes in its plot, like how Clockwork once interfered with the timeline first… well, like I wrote above in the story, anything has more than one outcome, it means there's a universe I didn't care to write this at all (Quoting Future Vlad, didn't think of that, did you?).

Honestly... they should have made it three episodes long, I like it but it seems kinda rushed... Reality Trip too since didn't had much of an epic fight, just other epic stuff, a Danny versus Freakshow battle would have been better, the only fight I saw there was for cheering and the hit Freakshow landed with his huge hand making Danny conveniently fall next to the thermos.

Anyways... moving on with alternative universes and different outcomes, it also means that in one universe Danny tripped, instead of avoiding the rubble like I placed it and Clockwork didn't do anything, in it Danny turned evil anyways, having no one to lean on to, not even Danielle, who Clockwork-knows (I love that joke I made up) what happened to her, maybe Vlad did pressed that button that let her to die, and Danny did broke and asked Vlad to rip out his humanity even if he knew what could happen… I don't know.

For those waiting for the DXS: so, I'm stalling it… yeah I am… I mean seriously! Is not like if Danny will suddenly realize that if he lost Sam in the explosion he would be even sadder, he would need her and blah blah blah… honestly… I need a better plot for THAT; I have the ring, now I need a plot for it to work… maybe in the 'Flirting with Disaster' story arc, but watching at it is like seeing the kiss in 'Double Cross my Heart' and I still have both chapters in my laptop.

Still, you have to make sacrifices like those, and I always tell myself it's just a cartoon… but one can't help but hate it, hehehe. I'm masochist like that! So sue me! (Wait! Don't!) And I need something to pull of the DCMH story arc as well, I'll think of something.

Anyways… thanks for reading! There's no need to review, though it is polite (And why do I care? I just vent my ideas for anyone who even gives a damn for it).


	3. Trying to move on

Third!

I don't know what to say… I mean it! Oh, extra warning, expect a few inside-story A/N.

Thanks: See last chapter.

_**Disclaimer: See last chapter.**_

* * *

Trying to move on

**8:30 AM. Danny and Jazz's room in the hospital.**

Danny returned to the room and turned into his human half and everyone was staring expectantly at him and he only stared back.

Tucker eventually said "So… I take it he didn't help you, right?"

Danny nodded "He said in another universe he did, there's another me in someplace of this eh, multiverse, well, actually it's complicated, but in another universe he did help me and that me is still the happy-go-hunting guy who still has parents, though he doesn't know what he could have had, or in my case, lost." And he sat on the free bed.

Sam said "Wait, how's that even possible?"

Jazz spoke "Is something simple actually, think of all the times you bought something or didn't. All the things you could have done or didn't, even everything you thought of something that happened or didn't, the simple thought of 'what if' makes up that in some other place of the timeline the 'what if' actually happened.

Like for instance, I found out Danny's secret since the Spectra thing. In another universe I didn't. In another universe, Sam couldn't have convinced Danny to go into the portal. And even in another universe, we could actually be of the opposite gender." And the three fourteen-year-olds' eyes bulged at the thought.

Jazz continued "And maybe because of that principle, even if Danny did promise he would never become evil, the evil him didn't just disappear as many would hope because he's from a universe in which he didn't travel back, one which this Clockwork ghost may have tried something but failed and probably you guys didn't end up in his lair."

Tucker said "Wow, that actually makes sense, and I understood." And Sam and Danny only nodded in agreement.

Sam asked "But did he say anything, Danny?"

Danny replied "Well, he did say that the future looks bright for me, he says that you guys will stay with me for this and as long as I have one of you with me I'm safe and I won't turn evil. He even said that one of you will be with me for the whole ride, always there for me. I don't know what he meant, but at least that means that one of you will be there to share my future."

Tucker and Jazz and glanced knowingly at each other, and Sam was thoughtful.

Danny sighed "Well, I'm leaving this place; I just can't sit here and brood while I hope my future might get better eventually."

Sam stood up and said "Yeah, that's my department."

Tucker said "You guys can go if you want. I'll keep Jazz some company."

Danny said "Tucker. You better don't hit on her. I know how you tried to hit on Star when she stopped dating Dash."

Tucker raised his hands in defense "Hey! I'm just keeping Jazz some company, jeez. Besides, you have Sam, and I think she's enough for you." And he smirked.

Danny and Sam blushed slightly and left without a word.

Tucker turned back to Jazz and asked grinning "How much you want to be they might end up together soon enough?"

Jazz said "I don't know. For one, Danny's taking hard on our parents' death. I'm sure dating is the last thing he might be thinking right now."

She sniffled a little and rubbed her eyes "You know. I've been preparing myself mentally for whenever a tragedy like this would happen, since Danny would need comfort, even if you guys were there for him, but…" she shook her head a little "You can never be ready for something like this… no matter how much you can be prepared for it, it always hurts."

Tucker's grin faltered, and he suddenly said "I'm sorry. In times like this I shouldn't even think of that."

Jazz shook her head again and said "No… is ok… besides, I already have a few bets on them. Before the end of sophomore year. 300 in total." In an attempt to get rid of the pain.

Tucker replied "400. Same time. I think they might end up together by the start of next year or something… I just can feel it."

Jazz replied "Danny told me you said the same thing when it came to Star."

Tucker's grin fell and he frowned "I'm not good when it comes to women" then his grin returned "But if I'm good at one thing is that I know my friends will eventually end up together soon enough. It just needs time."

Jazz said "I think you're right. Besides, eventually we'll all go in different ways, but if Clockwork said that someone will be there along the way, I'm pretty sure that would be Sam. She's always been there for him."

Tucker said "And Sam's been pretty smitten for him for a while. He's just clueless."

Jazz said "Clueless indeed. Even Dad saw something more than friendship between them. I'm pretty sure that Danny is so clueless he wouldn't even know if he had a child." (**A/N**: Oh, the irony.)

**A few minutes later. Amity Park Airport.**

Vlad and Danielle were currently walking through the terminal to the exit; Vlad had a suitcase on his right hand, with mostly his belongings like clothes, and some of hers he bought in Wisconsin. Vlad had grabbed on one of Dani's hand since if he didn't he would surely lose her, because the young clone girl would probably be entranced by all of the scenery of the airport.

Being young at age, and technically haven't seen anything of the world until recently, she was pretty occupied by mentally absorbing all the things she saw.

Sometimes Danielle would even trip since something would amaze her so much she would even stop and would only walk again until she tripped and followed Vlad.

Once outside the terminal, Vlad called for a taxi and it came and they boarded it.

Danielle stared outside the window seeing all of Amity Park, as Vlad asked the taxi driver to take him to the direction of the Fenton Works building.

Vlad thought that Danny may have been there. Once the taxi cab was moving Vlad briefly glanced at the little girl. He thought of her as both the splitting image of Danny, and the combination of Jack and Maddie, resulting in a sweet girl.

Through the whole ride, which lasted a very good fifteen minutes, Vlad was wondering what he could say to Danny. Obviously the sole idea of his cloning program of Danny would throw Danny over the edge, let alone what if Vlad asked him to keep her. Unfortunately he didn't have enough time to think of something since soon enough for him they arrived at the Fenton Works building.

The driver said "Here we go. Fenton Works."

And Vlad returned to reality and said "Oh, thank you. Here, keep the change." And handed the driver a 50-dollar bill.

He took Danielle and his suitcase, he glanced at the house and then at Danielle. The taxi cab left. He was having doubts, but he wanted to have peace with Danny, no longer having a reason to fight, and wanted Danielle at a home she would be loved. If Vlad took care of her he would surely love her, but he would feel bad since he would always remember why he made her in the first place.

Vlad eventually went up the steps and placed the suitcase down to try the knob and was surprised to find out it was unlocked, he opened the door and took Danielle and the suitcase in. He placed the suitcase down next to the door. And he went up the stairs, he entered Danny's room and found out he wasn't there. He checked the other rooms and he wasn't there either, not even Jazz.

He checked the rest of the house and found out that there was no one there, only him and Dani.

Dani eventually spoke "Vlad, where's Daddy?"

Vlad replied "He's probably out, my dear. Do you want to look out for him or should we wait here?"

Dani said "Let's wait here. Can we go upstairs?"

Vlad asked "Why?"

Dani answered "In one of the rooms I saw a picture of someone that looked like me… I think that's my daddy."

Vlad nodded and took her to Danny's room. Indeed, in the night table next to bed, resting right next to some books and CDs was a framed picture of Danny and his friends, Sam and Tucker.

Vlad grabbed the picture, looking at the smiling teen he wanted as a son, he was starting to wonder how Danny was dealing with his loss, he gave the picture to Danielle, who then jumped and sat on Danny's bed looking at the picture. (**A/N**: It's the one in Memory Blank, like the one in Sam's album)

Dani was staring at the one in the left, Danny. She looked at Vlad asked "That's my daddy?" and Vlad replied "He is. You're the splitting image of him, Danielle."

Danielle kept looking at the picture, she pointed at Tucker and asked "Who's he?" Vlad replied "That's Tucker Foley, your dad's friend."

Danielle then pointed at Sam and asked "And who's that? My mommy?" and Vlad was shocked by that question. He would laugh at the thought, knowing how Danny and Sam were even if they claimed to be only friends, but this was something he didn't thought of.

Vlad stuttered "Well… uh... um… ask your father." Perhaps he was only adding another problem at Danny but he seriously didn't know how to answer that without hurting her feelings.

Danielle replied with an "Oh." And kept staring at the picture, wondering if her daddy would be happy to see her. Since from what Vlad told her, Danny didn't know of her existence yet, and he assured her that even if he would be shocked and angered at Vlad, he wouldn't hate her. She didn't know why would her father hate Vlad, but maybe he had a good reason.

After a while they were surprised by a voice from the door yelling "What are you doing here! And who's she?"

As Danielle and Vlad looked at the door behind them, they saw Danny, who was angry, and Sam who was shocked.

**A few minutes earlier. Amity Park Park, Amity Park.** (**A/N**: Trying saying that five times quickly)

Danny and Sam were currently walking through the park in the direction of Danny's house, the Fenton Works. Danny had his hands on his pockets and Sam was walking and sometimes glancing at him.

During their walk Danny asked "Do you think I'll still become evil?" and Sam stopped, shocked. Danny walked a little, turned around and stared at her expectantly.

Sam answered "No… why… you do?"

Danny sighed before saying "I don't know… I think I can hold on, but sometimes it's just hard. The only thing preventing me from turning evil is just that I still have you, guys. But… it's just hard. Besides… who says that it was Vlad's ghost half that made me evil. Maybe all the grief, anger and guilt did that, and the only thing I got from Vlad was a power boost."

Sam said "Danny, you can't think of that. You made it, you rescued me and Tucker, and Jazz survived. And you told us what Clockwork said to you, as long as you have someone to lean on, you can still be good and you won't turn evil. And guess what."

Danny asked "What?"

Sam walked to him. "I won't leave you, Danny. You're my friend. I'll always be your friend and I'll always be there for you, and not just me, but Tucker and Jazz too! We're your friends, Danny. We won't just leave you because in some other universe you became evil. You can always count on us."

Danny absorbed the information. He then hugged Sam and said "Thank you." Sam hugged back and said "You're welcome."

They let go after a few moments. When Sam looked back at his eyes, she saw a small spark on them and they seemed less dull. Danny was starting to recover, it would indeed be a long path before he completely recovers but he would, eventually.

They continued back to their trip to Danny's house. Something in Danny woke up, he felt… better. He felt good, he felt truly good for the first time ever since his parents' death. Like if suddenly something was making him feel good, he thought that it was perhaps Sam's words that comforted him, and he thought it was that. But what he didn't know is that something did wake up inside of him, more specifically, inside his ghost half.

Soon enough Danny and Sam reached Danny's house and they went up. They didn't notice the suitcase next to the door. When they got up they were shocked to find that in Danny's room, were Vlad and a young girl, their backs facing at them while they looked at a picture she held.

Danny yelled "What are you doing here! And who's she!"

Vlad and the young girl turned around and stared at them. Sam was shocked when she saw the girl. Though Danny didn't notice since he kept his eyes and focus on Vlad.

Vlad got up and said "I'm sorry, my boy. I just wanted to come over and pay my respects to my friends and apologize."

Danny was caught off guard, he was about to say something until a memory flashed before his eyes, remembering how the future Vlad looked and what he told him about how he felt of Jack and Maddie and what a fool he had been for not treating them better.

Danny said "Oh. Then… who's she? And… why does she look like me?"

Vlad fidgeted "Maybe we should go downstairs so we can be seated."

The four of them left Danny's bedroom and they went to the living room. Danny and Sam took a seat at the large couch and Vlad and the little girl stood across of the table.

Vlad started to speak "Well… as you should know, my goals in life before this week was how I wanted to marry your mother and have you as my son, right?" letting out the 'kill Jack' part.

Danny and Sam only nodded. Vlad continued "Well… after many attempts trying to persuade you, and of course, failing to have Maddie as my wife I tried to… desperate measures."

Danny and Sam raised an eyebrow. Vlad spoke again "Well, using Valerie as my pawn and providing her with her 'Red Hunter' suit I used her to collect data on your fighting skills and even occasionally obtain your ghostly DNA, and using your ghost DNA, along with some human DNA you left in my mansion when you came with your family for your parents' and my high school reunion, I… tried to clone you."

Danny and Sam were shocked, and they glanced at the girl who kept staring at Danny.

Vlad said "Danielle here is indeed your clone. Somewhere in the DNA recombination the Y chromosome was lost and the result was her. Once I heard of your parents' death I went to the property I ran my cloning project and immediately cut off the life support of the clones. When I saw Danielle I didn't had the heart to do it. Maybe she could get a chance at life so I allowed her to live. I decided to bring her here to you. I could take care of her but-"

Danny interrupted "You are a seriously crazed up fruit loop. You show up and you ask for forgiveness which I was willing to give, then you tell me how you tried to clone me and now you tell me that you want me to take care of her? The little girl you brought! I'm fourteen! I don't even know how to take care of myself, let alone a little girl! Just go. And take her with you." And Danny went upstairs.

Vlad followed him and said "Daniel. I came here asking for forgiveness and I thought you deserved to know of this, besides I even want to end it here." And they arrived to his room.

Danny turned around, as Dani and Sam came to the door, and he said "End what? Our fight? Fine, bring it on." And he changed into his ghost half and got in a fighting stance. Dani stared at him, surprised by the change.

Vlad looked down and said "I can't, my boy."

Danny shocked and with his fighting stance faltering said "What?"

Vlad continued "It happens that with your parents' death, I lost my obsession. And no, it wasn't Maddie, it was my hunger for more: my hunger for power, richness, fame, always more, and I lost it once your parents' died.

Remembering how I mistreated them and blamed your dad for the accident and for marrying your mother it made me realize I was fighting for nothing. I just want to tell you I can no longer use my powers. I can still tap into some powers that could help me in case of a life or death matter but nothing else.

I even wanted to tell you about my cloning project to tell you I aborted it, and that I will no longer continue it and that I don't want to be your enemy, in fact, I need your help."

Danny asked, while changing into his human form "Help? For what?"

Vlad said "It happens that despite Danielle looking sound and whole, her ghost half is unstable." He glanced at the clone girl, before glancing back at Danny.

Vlad kept talking "The only thing that could save her from melting is your mid-morph DNA. It will allow her to be stable. She could live well as a human, but as she grows her ghost half will grow unstable and even if she doesn't use her ghost powers she will eventually suffer a tragic fate. I haven't come up with anything that could help her yet, but if you allow me to help her I could find a cure for her, allowing her to use her ghost powers like you."

Dani came to Danny and asked "I have powers like you? Awesome!" and she hugged Danny's right leg. Danny only ruffled her hair a little and smiled.

Vlad and Sam smiled a little at the scene. Vlad said "So… will you do it? All I need is a sample of a hair, with both human and ghost half in a perfect blend that can be obtained during transformation."

Danny looked at him, and then at Sam, who shrugged. Danny was still doubtful if Vlad did changed, but if his future self was regretful of all the things he did then maybe he could be trusted.

Danny said "Fine. Grab a hair and pull when I say so."

Vlad complied grabbing a hair from Danny's bangs and Danny formed two rings on his waist. Dani was startled and let go. As the ring was passing above Danny's head he said "Pull!" and Vlad pulled, getting in his fingers a hair that was half white and half black, a perfect sample of mid-morph DNA.

Vlad said "Very well, my boy. When I return to Wisconsin I will work on a cure for Dani's defect. For now she's fine. If she was any older there could be a risk. Just don't let her use her powers too much and she should be fine, if in her ghost form she starts to melt, let me know. If you want I will leave this house now."

Danny said "Sure." And Vlad nodded and proceeded to leave the bedroom and the house before Danny said "Oh and I forgive you, V-Man."

Vlad turned around and smiled warmly in response.

Once Vlad left, Sam got closer to the pair and Dani was staring at both her father and Sam.

Danny pulled Dani up to his level and asked "So… you're my daughter." And Dani nodded.

Dani then stared at Sam and she stared back. She extended her arms to her, asking Sam to grab her and she did. As Dani stared at she eventually asked hopefully "Are you my mommy?" and both Danny and Sam stared at each other, shocked and blushing.

**One hour later. North Mercy Hospital.**

Tucker and Jazz were currently laughing as Tucker told her some of the fights that Danny had with other ghosts. Right now he was telling her of the fight with Desiree the night Paulina was celebrating her 15th birthday during the meteor shower.

Tucker trying to control his laughter said "And then, hehehe, Danny tried to fire and ecto blast, but it didn't come from his hand, it came from his butt!"

And Tucker and Jazz set out another wave of laughter. Eventually the door opened and their laughs gradually stopped, then they both saw Danny, Sam and a little girl that greatly resembled Danny, being held by said teen.

Tucker said "How long have we been talking?" He then looked at the clock which said 9:45 and then at his PDA to check the date.

Danny said "Ugh. Tucker, don't get any wrong ideas… even though half of what you're thinking is true."

Tucker's and Jazz's eyes bulged. Danny quickly said "No! Not that!" he sighed and said "Maybe I should explain it from the beginning."

Tucker then closed his eyes and waved his hands "Dude, we don't need to know EVERYTHING!"

Danny and Sam blushed. Sam said "Stop being a pig. It isn't what you think it is. Far from it… just explain it to them, Danny."

Danny sat on the empty bed, with Danielle on her lap and Sam took a seat next to the door, and Danny explained about his talk with Vlad to Tucker and Jazz. How he came to apologize, how he revealed he can no longer use his powers, how he asked for forgiveness and even about what he told Danny about his cloning project and how he finished it, even the part that he asked for Danny's sample of mid-morph DNA so he could find a way to stabilize Danielle.

Tucker asked "And you trust him?"

Danny answered "You should have looked at him in the future, he was broken, he even turned crazy because he spent alone ten years in guilt and anger. I'm willing to give him a second chance. I didn't exactly get a second change, more like half chance, but I'm grateful for it. And Vlad is no longer my enemy. It seems that things are indeed looking bright."

And everyone else smiled a little.

Jazz thought 'Wow, and I thought I was just kidding with the being clueless to even know Danny has a child part.'

Tucker thought 'Wow, and thought Jazz was just kidding with the being clueless to even know Danny has a child part.'

Danny glanced at Sam and asked "You think your parents will allow me to bring her while me and Jazz stay there?"

Sam shrugged "I don't know, they agreed to you and Jazz, but her? Maybe, besides, we can always say she's a cousin that she probably lost her parents too and is staying with you."

Danny, trying to ignore the pain of his dead parents, said "That might work. Besides, is not like if she eats much."

Tucker said "She's your clone. I'm pretty sure she eats like you."

Jazz said "Mind introducing us Danny?"

Danny said "Oh, right. Danielle, meet Tucker, he's a family friend." And handed Dani to Tucker.

Tucker said "You know, Vlad isn't very original with names." And looked at Danielle "Hey there, I'm Tucker. I think I'm what you might call an uncle." And Dani smiled.

Tucker handed Dani to Danny and then handed her to Jazz. "And she's Jazz. She's your aunt. She's an intangible pain in the butt but you'll learn to handle it."

Jazz said "Hey!" shook her head and look at Dani "Hi, how are you?" and Dani replied "I'm fine, auntie Jazz." And she hugged the teenager.

Jazz giggled a little and said "You know. She's too cute for her own good."

And Danny nodded in agreement as he sat in the bed.

Dani let go off Jazz and said "Daddy."

Danny looked at Dani and Tucker and Jazz were surprised at the acknowledgement the little girl used. Danny said "Yeah, sweetie?"

Dani asked "Now seriously, is she my mommy?" and pointed at Sam.

Danny only blushed brightly, and Tucker and Jazz got another fit of laughs.

Things were indeed getting better for all of them.

* * *

End of chapter.

The Post-TUE arc is not over, now what's left is the funeral, Danny, Jazz and Dani moving in as guests in the Manson mansion, and well… other stuff I haven't thought of yet.

I suck at angst, which is why I will never make some. I wanted Danny to see more… lost, but I utterly failed.

I think I made Danny moving on slightly faster… I don't know how to emulate the feeling. A few years ago my grandmother died, but I hardly knew her and the loss didn't feel great… so maybe that's why I suck at emulating the feeling of the lost of a loved one. I never had a lost that big.

Still, maybe I can do some angst for next chapter.

Thanks everyone for reading this chapter and this story. No need to review, but you can do it if you want to.


	4. Story's over folks

Sorry people, but I will not write anymore… it just grew off me… I'm a procrastinator… what can I say?

If anyone wants to continue my stories feel free to, just tell me so.

This message and this story will self destruct in one week. You have been warned, we're talking about ten kilotons of TNT here! RUN!

(I mean it… I'm done writing… reading and critiquing is easier… that and I have to go back to university in two weeks.)


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